


His Boy

by Higgles123



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:54:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23721184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Higgles123/pseuds/Higgles123
Summary: Alfie deals with his grief over losing Cyril (a small depressive piece because our family god died today and this piece just came out. Sorry if it offends anyone)
Relationships: Cyril the Dog (Peaky Blinders)/Alfie Solomons
Kudos: 5





	His Boy

Alfie opened his eyes and the first thing he was aware of was that it was late in the morning, because the sun was high in the sky and the traffic outside was bustling and loud. And that was when he remembered. Squeezing his eyes shut in agony, he thought about the day before with a heavy heart. 

His beloved Cyril. His best friend in the world was gone. All those mornings he had grumbled at being woken with slobbering kisses and hairy balls in his face. All those mealtimes where Cyril sat beside him and drooled uncontrollably, waiting and watching with baited breath for Alfie to drop even the tiniest piece of food. The days when they were in the office and Alfie was having an important meeting, and Cyril would let out the loudest and most odorous wind that mankind, or dog kind for that matter, had ever known. 

Then there were the walks in the park where Cyril chased pigeons despite being told

‘No’ and always ended up in the pond, splashing about like a duck only to run out and shake himself off all over Alfie. Once Alfie was good and soaked Cyril would flop onto his back with his tongue lolling out at the side waiting for his master to scratch his belly and tell him what a handsome boy he was. And Alfie always did because what human on earth could resist that face? 

Alfie wasn’t ashamed to admit that when it came to Cyril he was weak. The mutt got everything he wanted and more. There was never a dog more loved and more spoilt, and neither was there a dog more grateful of the love he received and returned it tenfold. How was it he always knew when Alfie was having a bad day or when Alfie was sad? How was it that he knew to climb up onto his master’s lap and nuzzle his neck to show him he loved him and that he cared in his own canine sort of way. Most of Alfie’s adult life had been spent alone until he found Cyril, and then suddenly he wasn’t so alone anymore. 

Perhaps in few weeks, Alfie would be able to walk through the park and not feel his heart break into a thousand pieces when his boy didn’t come bounding towards him, sopping wet and panting. Perhaps in a few weeks, he would come to enjoy being able to eat the entirety of his own meals and sleep in his own bed without Cyril’s smelly arse on his face in the night. And maybe even in a few weeks or months, he might find himself another dog to replace the hole left in his heart from this one. Only they wouldn’t be able to fill the hole; not even a little because they would never be Cyril. No matter how much he wanted them to, they would never be him. 

Opening his eyes he caught sight of Cyril’s cushioned bed at the end of his own and let a single tear dribble down his cheek before he scrubbed it away angrily. No. Cyril deserved to be remembered with more than tears and sad thoughts. He deserved to be remembered for only the happy memories and the joy he had brought to Alfie’s life. His heart hurt like he had lost a member of his family, but the truth was that’s exactly what had happened. Cyril was his family. Because that’s what pets do. They eat away at your furniture and your bank balance, but most of all they eat away at your heart until they own it, and when they’re gone you’re left empty and alone. 

Cyril was Alfie’s family and would remain that way forever. 

“Sleep well, old boy.” 


End file.
